The Saviour
by SalvatorEh
Summary: Spoilers for episode 1x10. My interpretation of what will happen following the accident. ONE-SHOT. Damon's POV.


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This is my second Damon one-shot, because I'm just in love with the guy. In this, I'm assuming that Tyler is the one who caused the accident (of course I could be wrong). This is my take on what will happen in the January 14th episode. Please R&R!

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Not a second after he snapped the cell phone closed it was in pieces against the nearest tree. Damon swore vociferously, startling and scaring off the owl that had been perched on a branch just above his head. He couldn't believe it. What was it Sheriff Forbes had said? This town is indebted to him?

They certainly were, just not in a way that they would anticipate.

The entire town was going to pay dearly, just as soon as he revived Katherine and her little posse of shrivelled old corpses. They would be starved, and he would offer them a town ripe with pulsating throats. The inhabitants wouldn't stand a chance, and Damon wouldn't blink an eye.

The fury was so strong it clouded his vision and at that moment all he desperately craved was the sweet release of sinking his teeth into soft flesh. The mere thought of fresh blood caused his mouth to water in anticipation and his canines to extend, tickling the edge of his lips. His promise to Stefan was now meaningless – he needed to satiate this thirst with human blood, not animal.

And as though the shadows of hell heard his very thoughts, the distant sounds of metal scraping pavement were heard by his sharp ears. How coincidentally convenient it was to have a car accident serve his dinner, on a silver platter no less.

Not giving the ruins of the ancient church another glance, Damon took off at a swift pace that soon had him emerging from the tree line in front of the crash site. It was desolate and quiet, eerily quiet, and the lone figure of a man was the only thing moving in the cold night air. There wasn't a moment to process what was happening, because a high-pitched scream pierced the stillness before Damon realized.

Elena's truck.

Her scream was echoing now, followed over and over by more terrified cries. It was pathetic, in a way. The road between the heart of Mystic Falls and the Salvatore mansion was a deserted one. The only ones to hear her screams were two supernatural beings that, by nature, would prefer her dead.

He didn't know who or what it was that was stalking towards Elena's demolished SUV, but the Power that radiated off of him was unmistakable. He wasn't going to get any closer. Launching himself from the ditch like a nimble cat, Damon slammed into him and forced him off his path. The stranger tripped and fell, rolling several times before moving easily into a defensive crouch at the bottom of the slope.

Damon snarled a low, animalistic sound that came from deep in his chest. The figure staring back at him was no longer fully human, but a werewolf half transformed. The shadows hid the man's features but by the twisted and disfigured form it was easy to see he was only in mid-phase. A long snout, tipped ears and rolled haunches that were prepared to spring up at him at any moment.

They stayed that way for several moments. Damon, feet firmly planted and canines bared, and the stranger crouched low and silently weighing his options. It let out an angry roar and clawed at the ground in frustration before backing into the tree line and disappearing.

Frowning, Damon continued to watch the forest until he was sure that it wasn't coming back. The Power that he had felt glowing from the werewolf was gone, not even a flicker of it present.

A low moan from the vehicle snapped him back to the problem at hand, and turning toward the wrecked truck he bent down beside the driver's side window. Elena was still conscious, though barely. He reached in towards her seat belt and she cried out, weakly trying to push him away. She was disoriented, too.

Though it wouldn't be any surprise if she really did think he was there to cause her harm.

"Stop it," he chided, finally able to push the button and release the belt. He was prepared for what was going to happen and easily caught her by her shoulders before her head could slam to the ground. Glass was everywhere, and the metal groaned as Damon pulled Elena through the crushed window. She cried out again, but this time from pain. Once she was laid out on the road he took a quick overview of her body.

Petite, slim, curvy....

_Focus, Damon._

There were no obvious signs of real damage, a miracle if he ever saw one. Brushing the messy and bloodstained hair out of her eyes, he tilted her face towards his.

"Elena, where does it hurt?" he asked, noticing something... different about her.

"Mmm, my head is killing me..." Her reply was low and mumbled, but he caught the gist of it. The gash oozing blood on her forehead was obvious enough, and though his canines tickled his lips and tempted him to give in, he knew she had lost too much already to take any for himself.

And it was then, as his hand came to rest on the side of her neck to check the strength of her pulse, did he realize what he noticed earlier. He could hear her thoughts. The vervain-filled necklace was gone. Had she lost it in the crash? Possible, though unlikely; there were no irritated red lines from where it would have left a mark if it was ripped off by force.

Had Elena really taken the necklace off freely, knowing what that would do?

Damon didn't have time to debate the matter; instead he reached in his back pocket for his cell phone. Stefan needed to know.

The pocket was empty.

He sighed in frustration. Leave it to him to destroy the one thing he would need the most right then.

Looking back at the truck, it was obvious it wasn't going to be operable any time soon. His car was down by the old church, and Elena couldn't walk.

Damon looked down at her again, noticing that her eyes were closed and her breathing more regular. She must have passed out while he was thinking out their options. The cut on her forehead was starting to clot and he used the edge of his sleeve to wipe some of the blood off the side of her face. Her resemblance to Katherine had always caught him off guard; but right here, right now, she was just Elena.

Damon's thumb brushed gently against her cheek, her smooth skin as tantalizing and tempting as ever. If they weren't in the middle of a road in the early hours of the morning, he would be content to just sit there as he was until she woke.

But they couldn't stay. The werewolf had taken off for now, but there was no telling when it would return. Sliding his arms under her knees and shoulders, Damon lifted her effortlessly off the pavement. Glass that had stuck to her hair and clothes fell to the ground, the tinkling sound seeming loud in the silent night.

Turning his back on the demolished vehicle Damon followed the same path back to the church that he had taken to get to the accident. The entire time he kept his eyes off Elena's face and his mind focused, trying to feel for that wolf's Power again. But nothing was nearby and the woods were quiet.

He cast a steely glare at the church ruins when he came upon them, as if it was doing everything it could to keep him out. Katherine was there, maybe twenty feet below where he stood. He thought he had finally succeeded with the stone after all those years of waiting, but he didn't count on Emily breaking her promise.

But now he didn't have to worry about that anymore. The contract was null, and Bonnie was on her own.

Approaching his sleek black car, Damon shifted her weight to one arm and opened the passenger side door with the other. He laid her gently on the leather seat, reaching across her unconscious form to buckle her seat belt. His face was an inch from hers, and for a moment he let himself give in. He closed the distance, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.

If anyone had been around to witness that moment, Damon would have ripped them apart until they were nothing but shredded body parts strewn across the damp grass.

Pulling back sharply, he shut the door and crossed to the driver's side, taking in a deep breath of unneeded fresh air to relax his tense muscles. This was certainly going to an interesting night, one way or another. There were two options available to him: be the good brother and bring her back to Stefan, or take a much-needed field trip.

Damon was never one to pass up a good time.

He slipped into the seat easily, turning the key to bring the powerful engine to life. He glanced over at Elena, and she was looking back at him. Finally awake.

"Take me home, now." She said, her voice clearer than it was before. Apparently the nap she had helped with the disorientation.

Smirking like the hellcat he was, Damon leaned in closer and gripped her jaw, keeping her eyes on his.

"Let's go for a ride, shall we?" He said, neither a question nor a command.

Without the vervain, Elena was just as vulnerable as ditzy old Caroline. She smiled, almost matching his in deviousness, and nodded.

"Let's go for a ride."


End file.
